First off, I am a pretty stubborn person. Once I have a plan
of attack or a current obsession, I don’t let it go easily or change my plans until it is
done/task done to death/item purchased.
The latest plan I had was to finish off 6 out of the 7 Peaks
challenge before the end of the year, leaving Mt Baw Baw to do in February once
I get some training in my legs and mentally prepare myself for the task ahead.
My Baw Baw is pretty frightening and I will dwell on this later.
So I had ticked off 5 of the 7 Peaks already last week. The weekend just gone, we had originally planned on staying at Hotham and riding both sides of the
climb – Mt Hotham climb whilst the Tour of Bright (ToB) rode
the Gap loop on Saturday and on Sunday ride Dinner Plain-Omeo and back whilst the ToB rode
the Hotham climb for Stage 3. There was a slight change of plans due to life-commitments
so other plans came into play to accommodate.
As I had already done Mt Hotham climb, I decided to just do
one big ride for the weekend and to just tick off the Dinner Plain climb (solo)
ride of the 7 Peaks . Instead of staying at Hotham, I decided to stay at Omeo.
It’s a small town but provided all the amenities such as caravan park which is
where I stayed and a bakery for my lunch post ride.
I had a pretty big week in terms of training: weights on
Monday and Wednesday, Wattbikes + Altitude on Tuesday, Wattbikes at Art of
Cycling (first class) on Thursday 5:30am class and a swim on Friday afternoon. I
decided to take Saturday off in terms of training as the drive to Omeo would be
a big day.
I left the house at 11:30am on Saturday after packing 80% of my things
the night before. I just had a few things to sort out such as my homemade nutrition
(RMS, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt) and something new which was dates soaked
overnight and blended in the Thermomix. Packed the bike in the car and then it
was off I go along Princes Hwy towards Omeo.
I stopped 3 times during my 5 hour drive – for lunch, iced
coffee and then just a juice and a stretch of the legs. I got into the Omeo
Caravan Park at about 5pm. The basic cabin I had booked was cosy – everything I
needed for an overnight stay (needed to bring my own towels and linen) and it
had a community shower block which I really didn’t mind. I had a late check out
so I only had to pay for one night’s accommodation.
I brought dinner with me as I didn’t feel like heading to
the pub by myself, ate it around 8pm and then it was packing my kit ready for
my morning ride.
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| kitgrid |
The initial plan was to ride at 6am as the forecasted temp
was over 30 for the day but the temperature of Omeo (especially at the caravan
park) dropped below 10 overnight and I was freezing. Luckily I not only brought
my sleeping bag but I also brought an extra blanket too. I ended up sleeping in
a bit as headed out for my ride at 7am instead of 6am.
There was a climb out of the caravan park which warmed up my
legs quick. I rode through the main street of the town and then passed the
Bakery which is the official start of the 7 Peaks Climb. I was going along
pretty good and then I realised that I forgot my heart rate monitor (no big
deal), and then I stopped to turn on my rear light for safety as I was on the
road by myself. I stopped again during the first climb out of Omeo as I needed
to get rid of my arm warmers (so warm!). I struggled to keep my cadence > 45…I
knew the gradient was significant, I didn’t want to push so hard so early in
the ride especially when it was only 5km in and lastly, my legs were just dead.
The temperature hovered above 20 at this point and I was
sweating buckets. I had about a hundred flies as passengers as I climbed and I
had to do a bushman’s hanky blow several times to push these flies out of my
nose. After the first climb passed Mt. Kosciuszko, there was a soft
descent and I knew that I would have to climb this on the return leg. There was
a pretty steep descent after another climb and I also dreaded for the return.
Once I had done the first steep climb, the rest of the ride
was pretty good. Rolling hills which sapped the energy out of the legs. More
flies…
There was another climb you could see from a mile away
through the rolling hills. Luckily I could ride at a comfortable pace and
cadence. There were a few people descending, I am guessing they rode from
Dinner Plain, heading towards Omeo.
There were a few false flats before the final “climb” into
Dinner Plain. I was comfortable and even saw a few familiar faces near Hotham
Airport. Once I got to the top of the climb, I was relieved. The climb from the
caravan park to Dinner Plain took nearly 3:20 which I was pretty happy with
(aimed to be below 3:30). I bought a drink and got my 6th stamp at
the café, sat down for a little break, then it was a toilet stop and refill of
hydration before I headed back down to Omeo.
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| The official 7 Peaks strava segment - fastest female was around 2 hours. |
I have been pretty consistent with hydration ever since I set
my alarm for 15min intervals to remind me to drink at least every 15min and eat
every 30min. I tend to go through a bottle of hydration every 2 hours so
finishing the climb with only a third of the second bottle meant that I was a
bit thirsty than usual.
The temperature hit 34 (as max) on my descent down to Omeo.
The country roads are rough so there was plenty of friction that I felt
comfortable about speeds > 50km/hr on the descents – they were also pretty
straight descents which I could do. There were some gravel parts which shook me
at some points but I recovered from them quick.
I hated the steep climbs back towards Omeo – my legs were
fatigued at this point and I just kept my focus on heading back to the caravan
park. I actually slowed down when I reached Omeo as I wanted to take in the
scenery of this small town. Once I got down to the caravan park, I uploaded my
garmin data, posted a photo of the ride on Instagram and Facebook (also to let
people know that I arrived safely). I then took a shower, checked out of the
caravan park and then it was lunch at the Omeo Bakery before I headed back to
Melbourne.
I stopped twice on my drive back to Melbourne – once at
Rosedale for a toilet break and to check up on my friends’ progress at
Busselton (Ironman) and the next at the main servo stop for fuel and early
dinner. I also bought 2kg of cherries from the side of the road. I have a
weakness of cherries – I could eat cherries until I have a stomach ache.
Now having done 6 out of the 7 Peaks challenge rides, my
personal ranking for the rides are as follows:
1) Mt Hotham
2) Falls Creek
3) Mt Buller
4) Lake Mountain
5) Mt Buffalo
6) Dinner Plain
I found Dinner Plain to be more like a long ride on country roads
rather than a “climbing challenge”. There were some challenging parts but
generally, it was very manageable. Just a long day. I would recommend that
others carry 2 full size bidons and not those small ones and there is nothing
in between Omeo and Dinner Plain for a top up and it can get hot and sweaty.
I have been pretty lucky in terms of weather for all of my
climbs – nothing crazy has been handed to me so far (knock on wood) and I have
been staying away from cycling outdoors when the weather has been stupid.
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